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CalPERS gives top execs $4.5 million in bonuses

October 7, 2011 | 4:24
pm

Top administrators and investment officers at the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the country's biggest government pension plan, were awarded $4.5 million in bonuses, averaging 41% of their base salaries for the year that ended June 30.

The annualized bonuses ranged from a high of 73% of salary to the senior portfolio manager for fixed income to a low of 14% for the senior investment officer in charge of risk management.

The chief executive, Anne Stausboll, got an extra 34% of her salary, $96,638, on top of her 2010-11 base pay of $283,500. Chief Investment Officer Joseph Dear received a bonus of $84,375, or 19% of his annual pay of $450,000.

The bonuses came after CalPERS reported a return on investment of 20.7% for the fiscal year that ended in June. It was the fund's best performance in 14 years.

Since then, a volatile world economy has created worsening investment conditions. The fund is down 8.2% to about $218 billion since July 1.